Silent garbage grinder



Filed July 18, 1957 8 z 7 Z 4. m B R 5 2 \a I o w 2 l j 1 W m INVENTOR. PAUL A FRANK QM ATTORNEYS- United States Patent i SILENT GARBAGE GRINDER Paul A. Frank, Akron, Ohio, assignor to National Rubber Machinery Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed July 18, 1957, Ser. No. 672,714

1 Claim. (Cl. 241-1005) The present invention relatesgenerally as indicated to a quiet garbage grinder, and more particularly, to one which is characterized in that the upper housing is made of cord-reinforced elastomeric material with the reinforcing cords arranged to provide the necessary strength to support the weight of the grinder and motor, while yet, said housing is laterally flexible to minimize the transmission of lateral vibrations of the motor and impeller driven thereby to the grinder support structure, said housing further being effective to absorb grinding noises.

In the case of a domestic garbage disposer it is a prevalent practice to hang the same from the kitchen sink at its drain opening through the expedient of a tubular connector that is mounted in said drain opening and connected to the upper housing of the disposer. Said disposer is provided with a side discharge opening below the comminuting mechanism from which the comminuted refuse is carried away into a sewer with the assistance of water flowed into the grinding chamber. In such disposer it is customary to provide a metal upper housing that-is designed for suspension from the sink connector and carries'at its lower end the electric drive motor for the comminuting mechanism. Likewise, the discharge connector with the. sewer has included conventional metallic conduits, elbows, traps and the like. In such disposer installation the motor and comminuting mechanism vibrations and grinding noises are transmitted to the sink and/ or to the sewer pipe, whereby, under certain conditions, the vibrations and noises are amplified by corresponding vibration of the sink and sink cabinet, and of the building walls or floors acting as resonating chambers and sounding boards.

It has been proposed in Brezosky et al., US. Patent No. 2,743,875 to employ an upper housing of elastomeric material, but no provision has been made to control the elongation of the housing caused by Weight and vibration, nor is there any provision for obtaining different degrees of resilience in dilferent directions in the housing. A housing made of an elastomeric material which cushions and absorbs vibrations in the lateral direction would have excessive vertical elongation and therefore a short life because of the weight of the motor and the comminutingmechanism. On the other hand, a housing made of an elastomeric material which provides adequate support for the motor and comminuting mechanism would not have the resilience in the lateral direction to provide adequate cushioning and absorption of noise.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a garbage disposer in which the tubular upper housing thereof is made of elastomeric material that is reinforced and controlled by axially extending cords whereby said housing constitutes a substantially unyielding suspender for the disposer motor while yet said housing is capable of easily absorbing the lateral vibrations that emanate from the operation of the motor and of the impeller driven thereby.

It is another object of this invention to provide a flexi- Patented Mar. 21, 1961 ble conduit of elastomeric material between the grinder discharge opening and the sewer whereby transmission of such vibration and noises to the sewer or its supporting structure is minimized.

It is another object of this invention to provide a garbage grinder in which the aforesaid elastomeric, cordreinforced tubular housing is formed with beaded ends for securing clamping to the sink connector and to the motor housing.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a garbage grinder having an elastomeric housing with a metallic shredder ring disposed snugly fitted therein, said ring being coaxially piloted in the motor housing so as to provide a uniform clearance between said ring and the periphery of a vaned impeller rotatable therewithin without danger of contact between the two during rotation of the impeller within said shredder ring.

It is another object of this invention to provide a garbage grinder of the character indicated in which the grinding elements, viz., the rotary vaned impeller and surrounding shredder ring, are fixedly mounted with respect to each other and in which the grinding assembly is hung from the sink by an elastomeric, cord-reinforced tubular housing which substantially eliminates transmission of motor vibrations and grinding noises to the sink from which the grinder is adapted to be hung or suspended.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a garbage grinder that has a cord-reinforced elastomeric tubular housing in which said housing is formed with mounting beads that are reinforced by means of wire rings or the like, and which beads are further strengthened by an encompassing layer of woven fabric embodied therearound.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claim, the following description and the annexed drawing setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-section view of one embodiment of this invention; and,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary radial cross-section view showing, on enlarged scale, the preferred form of the cordreinforced elastomeric tubular housing having wire and woven fabric reinforced beads at its top and bottom edges.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, the reference character S denotes a conventional kitchen sink provided with a drain opening 1. A sink flange 2 is inserted through said opening 1 with 1ts top flange 3 overlying the margin of the sink opening 1 and with its threaded lower end extending downwardly below the sink S. The top of the garbage grinder 4 is provided with a tubular threaded connector 5 which has threaded engagement with said sink flange 2 and additionally, said connector 5 is provided with several jack screws 6, usually three in number, which are adapted to press the metal and rubber-like rings 7 and 8 upwardly to cause the latter to engage the underside of the sink S in fluid-tight manner.

The upper tubular housing 9 of the grinder 4 is formed with an inturned bead 10 which is clamped between said connector 5 and a clamping ring 11 as by means of clamp ing screws 12, said connector 5 and clamping ring 11 being formed with complemental recesses to accommodate such bead 10. The lower end of said tubular housing 9 is formed with an. outwardly turned bead 14 which, as shown, is securely clamped between the upper end of the grinder motor housing 15 and a clamping ring 16, screws 17 being employed for so clamping bead 14 between the complemental recesses of said motor housing 15 and ring 16.

The lower end of said tubular housing 9 is formed to snugly receive therein in telescopic relation a shredder ring 18 which is interiorly axially grooved or otherwise formed, to provide cutting edges, the lower end of said shredder ring 18 being piloted in a counterbore 19 formed in the upper end of the motor housing 15.

The drive shaft 2% of the electric drive motor 21 has keyed thereon a disk-like impeller 23 provided with upstanding vanes 24 and 25 which, upon rotation of said impeller 23, are effective to induce rotation of refuse introduced in the housing 9 through the sink flange 2, whereby such refuse is comminuted when rotated in contact with the cutting edges of the shredder ring 1 8. The thus comminuted refuse passes, with the assistance of water introduced into the housing 9 through the passages defined between the periphery of the impeller 23 and the grooves of the shredder ring 18 and is discharged from the sloped bottom discharge passage 26 formed in the motor housing 15.

Mounted on the motor housing 15, as by means of the scrcws 27 is a drain elbow 28 or the like, which is adapted for connection with a conventional sink trap (not shown), and in turn, said trap will be joined to a sewer pipe A characterizing feature of this invention is the use of a cord-reinforced elastomeric material such as rubber, for exampie, for the tubular upper'housing 9. The reinforcing cords 29, two layers of which have been shown in Fig. 2 (only one layer required if said reinforcing cords 29 are of steel wire or the like), are wrapped around wire bead rings 30 and 31 at the top and bottom of said housing 9 and wrapped around said cord enclosed rings 30 and 31 is a strip of woven fabric '32. The cords 29 may be of cotton, rayon, nylon, steel or other material such as is commonly used in the construction of pneumatic tire carcasses. In fact, the two layers of rubberized fabric may resemble ply stock that is employed in making pneumatic tires. In this case, the reinforcing cords 29 extend lengthwise of the axis of the housing 9 whereby said housing provides a strong, substantially unyielding, support for the heavy grinding motor 21 that is hung therefrom. However, despite the great strength of said housing 9 in the vertical direction, it is quite capable of readily flexing laterally to minimize transmission of motor vibrations to the sink S. Likewise, such cordreinforced elastomeric material serves to minimize transmission of noises emanating from the grinding operation.

As a further feature of this invention the conduit connection 28 between the discharge opening 26 and the sewer (not shown) is similarly made of flexible or elastomeric material so that such vibrations and noises are not transmitted to the sewer, and to the building structure that carries the sewer pipe. In this case, the flexible conduit is in the form of a drain elbow 28 and if desired, said elbow may be also made of cord-reinforced rubberlike material. However, the cords in that case need not extend downwardly or axially. The rubberized fabric accordingly, may he wound intubular form with the cords extending either axially or circumferentially as desired. For greater strength, alternate layers of rubberized fabric may have the cords disposed on a bias with respect to each other as is customary in tire building.

his to be noted that the housing 15 of the grinder motor 21, as well as of the cooperating grinding elements, that is, the impeller 23 and shredder ring 18, are disposed in relatively fixed coaxial relationship so that there is no opportunity for lateral shifting of the shredder ring 18 so as to bind or come into contact with the impeller 23. Such assembly as a whole, is supported by the cord reinforced tubular housing 9 whereby vibrations are isolated from the sink S and also from the sewer when a flexible conduit such as 28 is employed between the drain opening 26 of the motor housing 15 and the sewer. Moreover, by reason of the axial or lengthwise disposition of the reinforcing cords 29, the housing 9 has the strength to substantially unyieldingly support the heavy motor 21 and grinding mechanism but without transmitting the lateral vibrations incident to the operation of the motor and grinding mechanism to the sink from which the grinder 4 is suspended.

For more quiet operation it is further contemplated to employ an impeller 23 that is faced with rubber-like material as is disclosed in my Pat. No. 2,682,376, granted June 29, 1954.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in the following claim, or the equivalent of such, be employed.

1 therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

A garbage grinder comprising an upper tubular connector adapted to be secured in the drain opening of a sink to support the grinder; a downwardly extending tubular housing of elastomeric material terminating in upper and lower wire reinforced beaded edges, means securing said housing in depending relation from said connector; a motor housing providing a discharge opening for comminuted refuse, a shredder ring piloted in a counterbore in the. top of said motor housing and telescoped in the lower end of said elastomeric tubular housing; a motor driven rotary impeller disposed within said ring adapted in cooperation with said ring, to comminute refuse introduced into said housing through said connector, a clamping ring clamping said lower beaded edge of said elastomeric tubular housing between complemental recesses of said motor housing and clamping ring and holding the lower end of said elastomeric tubular housing against said shredder ring, said elastomeric tubular housing being reinforced by vertically reinforcing cords embedded therein and wrapped around the reinforcing wires of the upper and lower beaded edges, the cord enclosed reinforcing wires of said beaded edges having a wrapping of woven fabric extending therearound, to constitute a substantially unyielding vertical support while being laterally flexible for isolating motor vibrations and grinding noises from said connector and from the sink from which the grinder is adapted to be hung.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,498,916 Hunter June 24, 1924 1,619,067 Gammeter Mar. 1, 1927 2,526,324 Bloomfield Oct. 17, 1950 2,594,635 Gamaunt Apr. 29, 1952 2,682,376 Frank June 29, 1954 2,743,875 Brezosky et al. May 1, 1956 2,834,554 Bebinger May 13, 1958 2,853,248 Long Sept. 23, 1958 

